Optimal Power Scheduling and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Residential Microgrid for a Remotely Located Area: A Case Study for the Sahara Desert of Niger

• Published in: Energies (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 8; p. 3471
• Main Authors: Tahirou Halidou, Issoufou Tahirou, Or Rashid Howlader, Harun Or Rashid, Gamil, Mahmoud M., Elkholy, M. H., Senjyu, Tomonobu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2023
• Subjects: Air quality management; Alternative energy sources; Artificial intelligence; Batteries; Biomass energy; Case studies; Clean energy; Comparative analysis; Deserts; Diesel generators; Distributed generation; Economic analysis; Economic aspects; Electric generators; Electrical loads; Electricity; Emissions; Emissions control; Energy management systems; Energy resources; Energy storage; Fossil fuels; grid outage; microgrid; mixed-integer linear programming (MILP); optimal sizing; Optimization techniques; power scheduling; Power supply; Renewable resources; Residential areas; Rural areas; Software; Sustainable development; Wind power; Nigeria; Niger
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en16083471

The growing demand for electricity and the reconstruction of poor areas in Africa require an effective and reliable energy supply system. The construction of reliable, clean, and inexpensive microgrids, whether isolated or connected to the main grid, has great importance in solving energy supply problems in remote desert areas. It is a complex interaction between the level of reliability, economical operation, and reduced emissions. This paper investigates the establishment of an efficient and cost-effective microgrid in a remote area located in the Djado Plateau, which lies in the Sahara Ténéré desert in northeastern Niger. Three cases are presented and compared to find the best one in terms of low costs. In case 1, the residential area is supplied by PVs and a battery energy storage system (BESS), while in the second case, PVs, a BESS, and a diesel generator (DG) are utilized to supply the load. In the third case, the grid will take on load-feeding responsibilities alongside PVs, a BESS, and a DG (used only in scenario 1 during the 2 h grid outage). The central objective is to lower the cost of the proposed microgrid. Among the three cases, case 3, scenario 2 has the lowest LCC, but implementing it is difficult because of the nature of the site. The results show that case 2 is the best in terms of total life cycle cost (LCC) and no grid dependency, as the annual total LCC reaches about $2,362,997. In this second case, the LCC is 11.19% lower compared to the first case and 5.664% lower compared to the third case, scenario 1.